BB&T bank is notoriously anti-gun. They were the first in the area that I saw to post their branches against legal carry. In the address change package that I got after officially clearing my old house, there was a $100 bribe from them. Open an account, meet at least one of a list of requirements ($500 per month of direct deposits was my choice), and after 90 days, free money.

Well, I’m not one to turn down a corporate bribe, so I opened an account online. The system said that the account was opened successfully, as did the welcome letter that I received about a week later. But on the same day that I got the welcome letter, I found myself locked out of my account. I called, and they said that the account was blocked.

My direct deposit had already started, so both my initial deposit and the first paycheck percentage were inaccessible. They said something about not being able to verify something, and that I’d have to go in to a branch to straighten it out. They couldn’t tell me what documentation I would need to bring, and I really didn’t want to make two trips to a fucking victim disarmament zone to find out.

I hadn’t intended to keep the account active much longer than it was going to take to get the promotional cash anyway. And my first instinct was to close the account and tell them to fuck off. But no. I’m going to cost them money. But now it’s personal. Not only are they stupid when it comes to guns, but they are costing me time, sleep, and gas money. They’re going to pay.

So, I got my most recent electric, water, and internet bills, my car registration, my driver’s license with my new address on it, my passport, and my birth certificate, hoping that some combination of those items would be sufficient. Then I stuck my pistol in my pocket (fuck ’em) and set out to make sure I got my hundred dollars.

Dude got on the phone with corporate. They asked all kinds of questions about overseas travel, previous addresses, and all sorts of shit. Since when do banks know if you travel internationally if you don’t make any purchases while outside the country?

They seemed satisfied with my answers, and took copies of my license and my passport. They assured me that the account would be unblocked and usable within 48 hours. I went back home and went to bed.

I was able to log in two days later, as promised. It’s been over a week since my visit, and the account remains accessible. Now I get to wait the allotted 75-90 days, and see if I get my payoff. As soon as I do, I’m closing the account. In the mean time, I might leave a dollar in there.

I’ve been converting the lighting in my home to LED recently, ridding myself of the accursed CFL poison that was in most of the fixtures when I took up residency. I think I have eradicated all the evil, except for one floor lamp that is still wrapped up and in a corner somewhere.

Four of those that were replaced were outside flood lights. Key word there, flood. I acquired replacements from multiple sources. One pair was the correct 90W replacement flood lights. The second was, you guessed it, spot light bulbs. All I saw was PAR 38, 100W replacement, outdoor, and daylight in the description. The only real difference is the angle of the beam, but it’s a significant difference. Those bulbs aren’t cheap, so I will just live with it. For the next twenty-two years – assuming that the life expectancy on the box is accurate.

Sorry for the disappearance. FaucetCompany has been working me like a rented mule all month, and I’m trying to get a couple major projects around the house done. I’ll be back, bitching and moaning about one thing or another soon.

I have a problem throwing things away. I was taught to appreciate the value of things, and to not be wasteful. As a result, I have shit running out of my ears that would might still be useful to the right person under the right circumstances. But, for a vast majority of it, I’ll never be that person.

For example, I have thirteen model-specific handgun boxes/cases. I still own six of the guns that came in them. Most have accessories, such as locks or cleaning brushes inside. It’s extremely unlikely that I will ever use the ones for which I still have the guns. I certainly don’t need the others. But they are completely serviceable. It seems a shame to throw them away. But I don’t know anyone who could use them, and they’re just taking up space.

It goes on almost endlessly. Balancing kits and extra screws for ceiling fans that were left in homes I moved out of over a decade ago. Again, fully functional, and something that probably a dozen people invested a tiny fraction of their lives to manufacture. But useless to me.

Legacy electronic equipment. Software, drivers and operating systems that I will never use again. It all works. Or could work. Maybe.

I think it’s time for some serious downsizing. Hopefully the guilt won’t be too overpowering.

I seldom have the need for money transfer services. But this past weekend, I did. I chose Walmart. They were the cheapest, and the most convenient location for the receiver. I guess one gets what one pays for.

I chose the ten minute option. It was Saturday afternoon, and I’m sure all the beaners were loading down MoneyGram’s system sending their week’s wages south. Even so, I didn’t expect the delay that I experienced.

Three hours and twenty minutes. Two hundred minutes. Twenty times the expectation. That’s how long MG’s ten minutes was in real time.

As much as I hate Western Union, I’m likely to use them should I need said service again. At least they’ve always made the money available on time, despite their other transgressions.

A while back, I ordered three, in different colors, for roughly eleven federal reserve notes each including shipping. Different colors have different prices. Go figure. I’ve had them for a couple weeks.

They are shipped from India, and arrive in Parker retail packaging, written in English, but labeled to be sold in India. The listing says that a converter is not included, and makes no mention of ink cartridges. However, all three of mine arrived with one converter and two cartridges of blue ink each.

They are a simple yet attractive design, and seem well made for an inexpensive pen. The barrel and cap are plastic. They have a true fine nib, on par with other fine to extra fine nibs that I have on other pens. They are less picky about nib angle than most. The nib quality is average – neither ultra smooth, nor particularly scratchy. Unfortunately, that’s about all the good things I can say for them.

All three were stone cold bitches to get the ink flowing. I wasted over half a cartridge of ink each before I got them writing. Squeeze the cartridge (which is hard on the fingers, since it is not designed to be squeezed) until an ink bubble appears on the underneath side of the tip, catch it in something, dip top side of the tip into said bubble, and release the pressure on the cartridge, hoping that it will suck enough ink back up inside and in the right place to make it work. Once you finally get it working, don’t even think about wiping off any excess ink or nib creep for at least two days. It’ll go dry, and you’ll have to repeat the process.

None of mine would post properly. Sure, I could put the cap onto the end of the barrel, but there was no friction to hold it in place. Turn it upside down and give the slightest of shakes, and the cap falls off. It’s designed with a post and a defined lip instead of a smooth bevel, so you can’t just push it down more and get a tighter fit. I improved this somewhat by applying a couple coats of clear fingernail polish to the post.

The ink that is included is considered “free” according to the packaging. This is a good thing, because that’s exactly how much it’s worth. I don’t know what it is, but I’m reasonably sure it’s not Quink. I’ve used that before, and while I wasn’t particularly impressed, it performed fine. This crap looks good while wet. It’s a nice, full medium blue. But it fades into a sickly, washed-out light blue as it dries. Most inks fade as they dry, but this stuff becomes a pale blue that is not at all appealing like a baby blue or Carolina blue. But since colors are a personal taste item, you might think it’s the most beautiful color ever.

All in all, the pen is easily worth the price of admission, especially since it came with a converter. Purchased separately, converters cost more than these pens do. With the fingernail polish modification that allows for proper posting, I can see it giving good service indefinitely. Align your expectations to the cost, and I think you’ll find it a good value.

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FTC Disclaimer

Frequently, I will mention businesses that I like or dislike. Occasionally, I will comment on or review a product. For some stupid fucking reason that I will never understand, the nanny state that we call America requires me to disclose if I was compensated in any way for such comments. I wasn't. Go piss up a fucking rope, you useless bureaucratic asshole.